Saturday - Back to Basics

This Saturday had us over to Mick and Amy's for dinner. Mick decided to go with the classic Saturday night dinner - Spicy Shrimp to start and NY Strips and Grilled Vegetables.

The first course was Spicy Shrimp and Mint Dipping sauce with a Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc as the wine pairing.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/12/saturday-night-honey-pass-me-salmon.html

The link above is to the article covering both the Spicy Shrimp recipe and a picture of the Fume Blanc. This time though the Fume Blanc wasn't spoiled as it was a 2004 and not the 2002 pictured. The Fume Blanc works so well with this recipe as its crisp flavour cuts through the spice and actually helps to cool the fiery burn of the Cayenne pepper. I didn't include the LCBO information in the linked article so ...

LCBO Information

ROBERT MONDAVI FUMÉ BLANC
VINTAGES 221887
750 mL
Price: $ 24.95
12.7% Alcohol
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, United States
By: Robert Mondavi Winery
Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description: In 1966, Robert Mondavi originated his lightly-oaked Sauvignon Blanc and dubbed it Fumé Blanc. The aromas on stage here include apple, sweet grass, mineral and light toast notes. It has a crisp, refreshing, fruity core and a soft, yet spicy finish, that makes it a perfect partner for baked snapper or smoked salmon.

The Fume Blanc listed is either the 2005 or 2006 as the alcohol content is listed as 12.7% where as the 2004 is a shockingly high 14.5%. Not that I'm complaining about high alcohol, just surprised to find a white wine at that percentage!

For the main course, Mick decided to break out a new Cabernet Sauvignon for us to try. The main course was Grilled NY Strips with Zippy Sauce and the sides were Roasted Potatoes and Grilled Mixed Vegetables. Cabernet Sauvignon is a great pairing with steak and with days and days of Christmas Turkey ahead, he couldn't have picked a better main dish.

Mick and Amy picked this wine up on a motorcycle trip down to Ohio. I can't remember what Mick said he paid for it but the Wine Spectator is listing the price as $50US which means this would be $80-100 a bottle after exchange, duty and LCBO price gouging.

Wine Spectator Rating - 86

Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2000

An earthy, herbal style with moderate richness and concentration to the cedary oak, olive and dill-scented currant notes. Drink now through 2007. 14,500 cases made. –JL

The first scent I was picking up was chocolate and then a woody scent; the wine had a very welcoming aroma. Upon tasting it I was very surprised by the lack of fruit. It reminded me more of a French Bordeaux than a California Cabernet. The second thing that hit me was the high tannin. This was definitely not a drink on its own type of wine and it was looking to go with food. It worked nicely with the steak as the fat of the NY strip softened the tannins and made this a smoother drinking wine.

Where this wine fails is the price, at $25-40 a bottle Canadian this would be great wine but at $80-100 it is money poorly spent as there are much better wines at a lower price point.

We finished the evening with the leftover port and cheese from the night before and as my photo of the R.L. Buller & Son had a nasty glare in the shot, Amy took another one for me and I have included it below.


I'm really starting to think I should give up on taking pictures myself and make Amy the official Zippy Sauce Photographer!

Cheers!

Mark

All I want for X-mas is my two front teeth!

We had our friends, John and Kim coming in from British Columbia for the Christmas holidays, so we ended up doing the dinner thing on a Friday again as that was the only day open on their busy schedule. Mick and Amy joined as us well so it was a dinner for six.

The dinner menu for this evening was as follows - Poached Pear Salad, French Onion Soup and Lemon Prosciutto Pasta.

The first course was Poached Pear Salad. This recipe was one I copied from the 1010 Bistro. It is Baby Spinach in a Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, topped with Blue Cheese, Poached Pears and Spiced Pecans. I paired this with a Robert Mondavi Riesling and a Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/20-favourites.html (For a full write-up on the Mondavi Riesling)

I had the Pinot Gris on the rack for awhile and was anxious to try it as I'd tried the lower end version of Pierre Sparr's Pinot Gris and really liked it. I knew the Mondavi Riesling was a good match as I'd had this combination before.

LCBO Information

PIERRE SPARR MAMBOURG RIESLING 2002
VINTAGES 686006
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 31.95
13.0% Alcohol
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Pierre Sparr Et Ses Fils S.A.
Release Date: Sep 1, 2007

Description: Sparr No Expense. With a combination of enviable terroir, ancestral knowledge and modern technology, the Sparr family have been at the top of the winemaking game for three centuries. Wine Spectator awarded this Grand Cru Riesling a 91 and saying it has 'rich peach, apple and mineral flavors and vibrant structure'.

The Riesling went great with the salad but the Pinot Gris was less than stellar. The sweetness of the dressing and the pears was too much for the Pinot Gris and it was giving off a very bitter like favour.

The second course was a French Onion soup. For this I paired the Pinot Gris again and a Bouchard Finlayson South African Sauvignon Blanc with it. I'd been saving this Sauvignon Blanc for a few years as I really enjoyed it the first time I had it. I think I might have kept it a tad too long as it was slightly past its prime; it wasn't off but lack the vibrant fruit I remembered from the first time I had it. The Bouchard Finlayson Sauvignon Blanc wasn't the greatest pairing with soup, not bad but nothing to write home about. The Pinot Gris was the biggest surprise, against the salt of the soup the fruit in this wine came to life. It developed an almost oily mouth-feel and the fruit became so dominant that it almost reminded me of an Ice Wine.

I couldn't find the Bouchard Finlayson Sauvignon Blanc on the LCBO's website which doesn't surprise me as I bought this a few years back. I can't remember the exact price but suspect it was around $20.




The Pierre Sparr was a much better match with the soup than the salad but still wasn't an ideal pairing. Discussing this with Mick, I thought the Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay would have been a great match or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Next time I make this I will try it with both and see which is better.

For the main course, I made a Pasta with Lemon Cream and Prosciutto.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107652

This recipe is an old favourite and it pairs very well with Merlot. I paired this with the Joseph Phelps "Innsfree" Merlot. I have covered this Merlot in an earlier article -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/10/saturday-night-takeout-food.html

The Merlot paired as well as I expected it to and was a big hit with everyone.

We went with a cheese tray for dessert with crackers and shortbread cookies. Speaking of shortbread, I was trying to open the plastic wrap that the shortbread with my teeth when the wrap slipped and my top teeth came crashing down on my bottom - end result I cracked and lost half my right front tooth. I could almost hear my mother in the background going "Don't open that with your teeth." Hopefully my dentist is open this Monday or I won't be smiling for family Christmas photos this year!

To go with the cheese tray, I had two ports on hand - an old stand by and a new one I had yet to try.

The New One

"Old Faithful"

I didn't think many other ports could touch the Taylor Fladgate 20 year old port until this summer when I tried a Yalumba Tawny Port that blew me away. The R.L. Buller & Son is another Australian Port like the Yalumba and Robert Parker had rated this a 94 so I couldn't wait to try it.

I'd picked up the R.L. Buller & Son on my last trip down to NY at the Premier Group. It was $22.99US for a 375mL bottle (So about $37 CDN. after duty). This puts it in the same price range as the Taylor Fladgate 20 year port which is about $68 in the LCBO.

The R.L. Buller was more oaky and sweet then the Taylor Fladgate but I liked the Taylor Fladgate better as it seemed smoother and more complex. The R.L Buller had that classic prune aroma that most Tawny Ports have but stranglely enough its aroma reminded Mick and myself of a California Cabernet Sauvignon.

My Top 5 Tawny Ports to date are -

1. Taylor Fladgate 30 Year old Tawny Port

2. Taylor Fladgate 40 Year old Tawny Port

3. Yalumba Antique Tawny

4. Taylor Fladgate 20 Year old Tawny Port

5. R.L. Buller & Son Tawny Port

So while the R.L Buller wasn't as good as the Taylor Fladgate, it still was a very good port.

Cheers!

Mark

Friday is the new Saturday...

As Amy's Christmas Party was scheduled for this Saturday, we got together on Friday instead. We also had some extra guests as my wife's parents, sister and friend joined us. I'll summarize the first three courses as the wines with each of these courses have already been featured in the blog before.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/20-favourites.html

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/saturday-night-4-bottles-2-drunk.html

The first course was Carrot Soup with Fire-roasted Chilies and it was paired with a Rosenblum Zinfandel. The second course was Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese, Bagel Crisps, Capers, Onion, Cucumber and Lemon and it was paired with the Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. The main course was Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and it was paired with the Louis Jadot "Bourgogne" Chardonnay.

As I mentioned in the "4 Bottles = 2 Drunk" article, both Mick and myself figured that the Louis Jadot would be awesome with a Caesar Salad - I'm happy to say that was the case, it was exceptional with Caesar.

"The Dessert Wine"

I was looking forward to trying this as French Sauternes and Tokaji from Hungary seem to be the standard to which a number of dessert wines are judged. I have never tried a Tokaji before, so this would be my first.

As you can see by the picture, the wine is a rich amber colour; it could almost be mistaken for a Tawny Port. Upon uncorking of the Tokaji, I was surprised to find it had an almost medicinal smell to it and began to worry about how it would taste.

After my first sip my worries completely disappeared - it was very good. It had the sweetness of a Canadian Icewine, but enough acidity and bite to cut the sweet so it didn't seem as syrupy as an Icewine.

The two desserts we had on tap for the evening were Butterscotch Crunch Cake and Chocolate Pecan Pie. The Tokaji paired very well with the Crunch Cake, and OK with the Chocolate Pecan Pie. The Chocolate Pecan Pie was too heavy on the Chocolate side and way too light on the Pecan side and the heavy Chocolate was throwing the Tokaji pairing.

I picked this wine up on my last trip down to the Premier Group in NY but I couldn't find it listed on there website. I found my receipt and the price is listed as $79.99 US and was discounted down to $72 US (so with duty and exchange about $118 CDN).

The price is where this wine doesn't make the grade. There are Canadian dessert wines for less than half the price that are as good. Due to this I probably won't be picking up another bottle of this exact wine, but the wine was good enough to peak my curiousity enough that I will be trying another brand/type of Tokaji.

Cheers!

Mark

"K, Syrah, Syrah" Wine Club

Wine club met last week and we sampled a French Syrah from northern Rhone and an Australian Shiraz. As Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape and Australian wines are very popular right now and French wine has been the standard, I was looking forward to this tasting.

"The Competitors"

This was our sixth meeting of wine club and our last official one. When Adam and I started Wine Club we asked people to commit for 6 sessions at $25 each. For the $25, each person gets to be apart of the tasting and takes home a bottle of wine at the end of each tasting. We will be having a seventh wine club meeting as most months we didn't hit the $25 limit and have enough money left over to do a bonus tasting.

The two wines we tried at the tasting were -

“ESPRIT DE GRANIT SAINT JOSEPH” Syrah by CAVE DE TAINLCBO Information

Stock Number – 17152
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 23.30 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Rhone, France
By: Cave De Tain L'Hermitage
Release Date: Mar 3, 2007

Description - Saint Joseph is one of Northern Rhône’s undiscovered gems. Produced from 100% Syrah, Saint Joseph wines are well-regarded for their fruit-forward blackberry intensity and attractive pepper tones. They can age beautifully, however, many 2003s, such as this, are really hitting their stride now. Enjoy with rich lamb or beef dishes.

Wine Spectator – 2003 Rated 90

Dark and ripe, with blackberry and plum fruit running over toast and bittersweet cocoa notes. Long finish is a bit firm, but there's plenty of exotic fruit to offset it. Drink now through 2009. 15,000 cases made. –JM

”Y” Series Shiraz by Yalumba

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 624494
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.15 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: NEGOCIANTS INTERNATIONAL

Tasting Note - Deep violet colour; blueberry, plum and currant aromas with a hint of anise; fresh, juicy palate with chocolate notes.

Serving Suggestion - Grilled bison burgers, lamb or firm cheese

Wine Spectator – 2003 Rated 87

This well-crafted Shiraz has plenty of jazzy blackberry and currant flavor at the core, lingering nicely against a frame of spicy oak on the finish. Drink now through 2009. 23,000 cases imported. –HS

The Yalumba that we tasted in Wine Club was purchased a couple of years ago. I had bought two cases as I found it very good and at $13 it was a steal. I'd imagine that the current year at the LCBO is 2005. I used the 2003 "Y" Series so both wines we were comparing were from the same year.

The picture below shows one of the best ideas for wine marketing I have seen in years. The bottle comes with a tear away tab on the label that has the wine information on it. So you are at a restaurant or a friend's house trying the wine, if you like it, tear off the tab, put it in your wallet and next time you are at the Liquor store you have the name of the wine, etc.

As we were trying a different wine region at each meeting I thought it would be appropriate to end with France. The St. Joseph's was the bottle that everyone would be taking home with them. Dorie (a co-worker) brought in some BBQ Beef and Cheese and Crackers to go with the wine. I'm grateful that she did as I was finding two heavy dry reds at noon on a Monday just a bit much. They both mellowed quite nicely with the food.

The St. Joseph's tended to be smoother and more subtle than the Yalumba, but the Yalumba had a bigger mouth feel to it. Everyone enjoyed the wines but the French Syrah wasn't the clear winner over the Australian Shiraz - the split was about 70% preferred the Syrah over the Shiraz. With the Syrah at $23 a bottle and the Shiraz at $13, I would call this match a tie.

Next month's Wine Club 'bonus tasting' will 3 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignons at 3 different price points.

Cheers!

Mark

Amy's Elite Photo Skills

This is a follow-up to the last article as Amy sent me her picture of the cork from the Stone Church Vidal Icewine. The clarity of the picture and how it clearly shows the crystalization on the cork is stunning.


Thanks Amy!

Saturday Night - Honey, pass me the Salmon!

Saturday night and it was Mick's turn to host. I asked for an old favourite - Spicy Shrimp with Mint dipping sauce.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/108272

This recipe works very well with a Sauvignon Blanc/Fume Blanc. The reason I asked Mick for Spicy Shrimp is I had a bottle of Robert Mondavi 2002 Fume Blanc that really need to be drunk, as the colour on it was a tad dark.

I don't know if the picture shows it that well but the wine was closer to an orange/amber colour than the pale greenish yellow it should be. I asked Mick to make sure that he had a backup bottle to go in case the 2002 Fume was past its prime... and it was a good thing I did. The best way I can describe it the taste of the Fume Blanc is rancid apples. I wasn't overly broken hearted about the 2002 Fume Blanc being bad as I have been drinking the Fume Blanc since its 1999 vintage and the 2002 was the only disappointing year (1999-2005). That is probably why it sat for so long on the rack instead of being drunk years ago.

Tip - Reds usually benefit from aging, most white wines don't - the exception to this rule is some French Chardonnays and most dessert wines.

Mick had a bottle of Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc ready to go as the backup. This is a nice Fume Blanc as it is a tad softer on the acidity than the Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc. It paired very well with the shrimp.

I'd give you the LCBO information on this wine but they are only currently carrying the Cab. and the Merlot and not the Fume Blanc. They did carry the Fume Blanc at one point and the price is around $20. Prime Wines in NY does carry this on a regular basis and should have stock.

For the main course Mick did a Honey Bourbon Grilled Salmon, Roasted sweet potatoes, and steamed Broccoli in a light lemon sauce. His choice of wine to pair was the Columbia Crest 2004 Merlot. The Salmon and the sweet potatoes both had a sweetness to them that threw the pairing a bit, the pairing was still good but not great. The Broccoli in the lemon sauce rocked with the Merlot.

The Merlot was interesting as it started strong, had a really good mid-range but a poor finish. It has good fruit and a very nice smokey taste to it. It is a shame that the finish on it wasn't better or this would be an absolute to die for Merlot. For the $20 price point it is a great Merlot

LCBO Information -

COLUMBIA CREST GRAND ESTATES MERLOT 2004

VINTAGES 263418

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 19.95

13.5% Alcohol

Sugar Content : D

Made in: Washington, United States

By: Chat Ste Michelle

Release Date: Sep 1, 2007

TASTING NOTE: Bursting with blueberry and currant fruit, this zips across the palate with a racy texture and refined tannins. Lingers enticingly with a hint of mocha on the finish. Drink now through 2009. Best Value. Score - 90. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, May 31, 2007)

I'm surprise at the 90 rating on this wine, I'd give it a solid 85 point rating. Regardless this is stil a good wine.

For dessert it was time for a Caramel Crunch cake and some 1995 Stone Church Vidal Icewine. This wine was very good, it was almost as good as the legendary Henry of Pelham 1995 Late Harvest Vidal. It was sweeter and the acidity wasn't as good as the Henry of Pelham but it certainly had that wonderful aroma and rich depth to it. It paired nicely with the Caramel Crunch cake.

Check out the 'flavour' crystals on the cork

Amy had a better picture with her camera of the crystals than this one, if she sends it to me I will post it as the shot she had was stunning in its clarity... I bow to you Amy, you are the camera master.

All in all it was a great meal with good friends... in other words, I'm fortunate to say, a 'typical Saturday night'.

Cheers!

Mark